Appliance for cleaning toothed articles.



W. E. LIST.

APPLIANCE FOR CLEANING TOOTHED ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1914. I

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

WILLIAM EDWARD LIST, OF ADDISCOMBE, ENGLAND.

APPLIANCEFOR CLEANING TOOTHED ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

Application filedll'ovember 21,1914. ,Sefial No. 873,289.

.a specification.

My invention relates to a simple and efii clent appliance for eleamngpronged or toothed articles, such astoilet-combs, tableforks, and thelike.

According to the invention my improved appliance comprises a series ofthreads, fibers, wires or the like, in combination with one or morebrushes, the arrangementbeing such that the comb or the liketobe cleanedis passed through the fibers, threads, or the like, and throughthebristles of thebrush, and passed alongfhe same, the brush or brushesremoving any matter .which is drawn out from the spaces between theteeth or prongs of the comb, or other articles, by the passage of thelatter alongthe said fibers.

In practice, I advantageously makeuse of horse-hair as the threads orfibers, and of .woven horse-hair fabric asthe brush or brushes, and in asuitable. form of appliance particularly adapted for the cleaning oftoilet-combs. The clearing hairs and the brush or brushes are made froma strip-0f woven horse-hair fabric, the warp threads of which have beenremoved to form a series of parallel horse-hairs, the ends of the stripbeing turned over so as-to serve as the brush, and the warp threadsbeing retained at the turned-over portion. Anadditional layer or layers.of fabric may be fitted at either end so as to make a thicker or moreefiective brush.

In applying the invention to anappliance for cleaning table-forks, thefibers or the like, which are preferably of horse-hair, areadvantageously arranged in bundles. The said bundles may be stretchedparallel to one another in holding devices of any convenient shape. Ateither or both ends a brush, which maybe made from horse-hair wovenfabric or from bristles or fiber, may be suitably secured to the holdingdevices, and the length of the bristles of the brush may be selected sothat the combined effect of the brush and clearing bristles is mostefficient for the particular articles for which the appliance isdesigned. In some cases I may combine with the horse-hair or theequivalent, means for polishing an article such as a fork; for example,the device may be furnished with a material such as wool or chamoisleather, and with a polishing powder or substance such that thefork ispolished as it is passed through the appliance.

To enable the invention to be fully understood I will describe it byreference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a frontview of an appliance for cleaning toilet-combs, made according to theinvention. Fig. 2 is an edge view there of, and Fig. 3 is a section onthe line 3-3,

Fig. l, but showing an exaggerated thickness of the parts. Fig. 4 is afront view of a somewhat modified form of the appliance. F ig. 5 is anedge view thereof, and Fig. 6 is asectionon the line66, Fig. 4:, alsoshowing an exaggerated thickness of the parts.

Referringfirshto; the appliance shown in .Figs. 1 to 3, a represents. aseries of parallel fiberswhichare in the construction illustrated, of,horse-hair, provided by the removal ofthe warp threads from a strip 0of woven-horsehair fabric. The strip 12 is folded longitudinally asshownin Fig. 3, so, as to. provide. a double layer orthickness of theparallel horse-hairs a, and the two ends of the doublestripsoformed arethen turnedover and passed through the two loops or ,handles a. Theturned-over portions aresecured to the main portion of the wovenstripbythe leather or like bands (Z, which maybe sewninplace in such a mannerthattheends of;the said fabric project from the saifd bands;the-projecting ends of the fabric also have the warp threads removed soas to leave a series of projecting hairs. e constituting a brush. at.either end of the appliance.

The loops 0 may be fitted, as shown, with hooks or the like 7, one ofwhich may be suspended after the manner of a razor-strop, and the otherbe furnished with a tab 9 by means of which the device can be held inone hand when in use.

As will be understood from the description, when it is required to cleana toiletcomb the teeth thereof are passed into the parallel horse-hairsa, and are drawn from one end of the same to the other, the terminalbrushes 6 serving to remove any matter which is drawn out from thespaces be tween the teeth of the comb or the like by its passage alongthe parallel bristles. A special advantage attaches to the employment ofhorse-hairs derived from the removal of warp threads from a wovenhorsehair fabric owing to the fact that in the manufacture of the latterthe said hairs have had imparted to them a crinkled, un dulating, orwavy form which materially assists in effectively clearing out thespaces between the adjacent prongs of the article to be cleaned.

Figs. at, 5 and 6 show a form of the appliance which is very similar tothat illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the main diiference being thatfour layers of the parallel weft horse-hairs are employed. The applianceis built up from a strip of woven horse-hair fabric Z), which, at thelower end, is passed through the loop 0, the two lengths of the striplying face to face being then passed through the upper loop 0 andturneddown, the turned-down portion constituting a brush 6 as in thepreviously described arrangement. This form of the appliance is utilizedsimilarly to that shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

Z are strips of a polishing material such as wool or chamois leatherwhich are secured between the layers of hairs a, and serve, as abovedescribed, for polishing the prongs of the fork as it is passed betweenthe clearing or cleaning hairs a. In this form of the appliance thepolishing powder or substance may be employed in conjunc tion with theleather or like strips for facilitating the action of polishing.

Claims:

1. An appliance for cleaning toothed articles, comprising a strip ofwoven fabric which is secured at its ends to holding devices, and thewarp threads of which between the said holding devices have been removedto form a series of parallel strands, one end of the fabric being foldedback through its holding device so as to lie against the main portion ofthe strip, and the warp threads being removed therefrom so as to providea parallel series of strands constituting a brush, substantially asdescribed.

2. An appliance for cleaning toothed articles, comprising a strip ofwoven horse-hair fabric which is secured at its ends to holding devices,and the warp threads of which between the said holding devices have beenremoved to form a series of parallel hairs, both ends of the fabricbeing folded back through'the holding devices, so as to lie against themain portion of the strip, and the warp threads being removed therefromsoas to provide a parallel series of hairs constituting brushes,scribed.

3. An appliance for cleaning toothed articles, comprising a strip ofwoven fabric which is folded longitudinally on itself and has its warpthreads partially removed so as to provide parallel strands, one end ofthe fabric being folded back upon itself so as to lie against the mainportion of the strip, and the warp threads being removed substantiallyas dea from said end to provide a parallel series of strandsconstituting a brush.

4. An appliance for cleaning toothed articles comprising a strip formedof a series of parallel strands which is secured at its ends to holdingdevices, one of the ends of said strip being folded back through itsholding device so as to lie against the main portion of the strip andform a brush, and flexible strips of polishing material carried by saidholding devices and lying adjacent to said parallel strands.

5. An appliance for cleaning toothed articles comprising holdingdevices, a strip formed of a series of parallel strands carried by saidholding device, a brush also carried by one of said holding devices andlying against said strip, and flexible strips of polishing materialsupported by said holding devices and lying adjacent to said strip.

WILLIAM EDWARD LIST.

Witnesses:

JonN E. BoUsrmLD, C. G. REDFERN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissionar of Patents, Washington, D. G.

